The sage was determined to die.

Why must we choose this option?

Chu Xi plopped down on the ground, leaned against the stone wall, closed her eyes, and stubbornly said, "I don't want to kill my brother. It's just a piece of Wenxin, right? I can just give it up."

He didn't even turn around to look at his brother's face, lowering his head and muttering to himself, "The first two rounds were individual challenges, why did this round suddenly turn into this?"

He reached up and scratched his head, saying self-deprecatingly, "It's all fake, all fake."

Chu Xi, with her hair a mess from scratching, closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, a rustling sound came from the stone bed.

Chu Xi instinctively gripped the dagger, stood up, and reached out, feeling a strange sense of loss.

No one else came here.

Chu Ze opened his eyes on the stone bed. He slowly turned his eyes, his dark gaze shifting to Chu Xi.

Chu Xi's heart skipped a beat.

His brother woke up.

……

"Isn't it a bit too cruel for brothers to kill each other?" Ji Bai suddenly said.

The mother-in-law rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, "Didn't you personally choose these questions for them?"

Ji Bai touched his nose and said, "This is Wenxin's choice."

"Isn't this the kind of test one must face in the mountain of books?"

The old woman, reflecting on her own situation, remarked sarcastically, "I think they just deliberately chose the crazy ones. If they don't fight for it, do you think Wenxin would be so eager to be given to them?"

"The most pitiful ones are actually us."

The old woman glanced at Ji Bai and sighed, "We didn't even have a chance to go in and fight for it."

Ji Bai, who eagerly accepted the offer, was speechless.

He looked away somewhat guiltily. No, we are still different.

The next second, Ji Bai left the spot.

……

Chu Ze knew that this was just an assessment, and everything that happened was not real.

If the examiner's words are not a lie, then by guarding his literary heart, he can win.

But what if?

Is this literary talent truly of the highest caliber?

Even if he takes it out, can he really keep it?

In the illusion, Chu Ze was covered in blood, but his expression remained relatively calm. After killing the envoy from Baiyujing, he knew that a calamity had befallen the Chu Kingdom.

Why do so few countries dare to openly kill the envoys of the five great families?

The life or death of the envoy is a minor matter; offending the majesty of Baiyujing is a major one.

Even a powerful state like Chu could only be used as a scapegoat in Bai Yujing's thunderous wrath.

Chu Ze stood there, sword in hand, watching as a torrent of blood-red light cleaved through the Chu Kingdom's imperial city, and countless cries of agony, curses, and the sounds of death rushed toward him.

He watched his loved ones die before his eyes, their unseeing eyes filled with hatred for him.

"Why, why did you give Wenxin to him!"

"Why kill the messenger!"

Chu Ze suddenly burst out laughing.

"As expected, even in the Book Mountain Illusion, the majesty of the immortal clans remains."

Chu Ze turned to look at Ji Bai. Before he knew it, the other man had silently walked up to him, as if intentionally reminding him that this was an assessment, not the real thing.

"Examiner, is this literary talent truly of the highest rank?" Chu Ze suddenly asked.

Ji Bai opened his mouth, but felt an invisible force preventing him from speaking. He smiled wryly and said, "I cannot tell you."

Chu Ze suddenly asked, "Examiner, do you think what happens in the illusion could become reality?"

Ji Bai pondered for a moment, then suddenly answered irrelevantly, "Are you that scared?"

"Everyone wants to acquire a higher level of literary talent in the mountains of books, so as to achieve instant success and defy fate."

Ji Bai looked at Chu Ze with a hint of amusement and said, "You seem quite afraid that Wen Xin's rank is even higher."